(St. Louis, MO) On Wednesday, Peabody Energy asked in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Louis (the company's headquarters) for six of its top executives to receive a total of $11.9 million in bonuses as part of its Chapter 11 negotiations.

By comparison, Alpha Natural Resources was granted approval to spend $6.8 million on 15 of its employees as incentives, they only recently emerged from bankruptcy in July.

According to the company's motion, the money is intended to "incentivize participants to maximize current year profitability while supporting and reinforcing [Peabody's] excellent safety record." It's an incentive that would pay out if the company negotiates its way out of the Chapter 11 process.

The filing requires specific goals in terms of production and profits that Peabody has to achieve in order for the executives to receive the bonuses. If the company fails to reach it goals during bankruptcy restructuring, its executives will receive only their base saleries -- which range from $444,000 to $1 million.

One of the incentive packages would go to Peabody CEO Glenn Kellow, who received a $1 million bonus in 2014 as the company's COO. It would bring his annual salary from $1 million to $3.9 million.

Peabody operates three coal mines in Wyoming, the North Antelope Rochelle Mine, Caballo, and Rawhide mines. Its operations in the Powder River Basin are the largest in the company.

The judge in the case will hear arguments against this motion on August 17th.